Tourists horrified at dead Canadian geese found floating in Boggart Hole Clough lake

Tourists have decried the sight of dead Canadian geese floating on the Boggart Hole Clough lake in Blackley.  

Three geese died one after another within four days. The fourth, which manifested the characteristics of diseased bird, was seen close to the dead birds. One billboard inside Boggart Hole Clough lake showed that an isolated goose is dead.  

Philip Hart, a local resident who daily visits the lake on workout, claimed he saw two dead geese on Sunday. By Wednesday, the third goose had died.  

Laura Farage, a resident on a walk with her friend, saw a struggling goose close to the bank and decided to rescue it. 

They initially thought the goose was choking, as it was flapping its widely spread wings and kept tumbling in the lake. But when they lifted it with Laura’s jacket and opened its mouth, they did not see anything blocking its throat.  

She noted: “A visitor said about this time last year dogs which drank from the lake were dying.”

She said there might be a need to test the water. Laura added: “It does not look good when you see dead birds floating in the pond.”

She said her attempt to call the nearest PCA was not successful.   

A farmer, John Heritage, said he brought five Muscovy ducks to the park about five or six years ago. He said the ducks were flying out of and defacating heavily around his farm. 

John said: “They have ended up gone, ended up dead. I do not know what is going on. Why are they doing this?”   

The angry farmer said: “Bring the kids to the park, come see some dead birds, fantastic. One there, one there, what do you want to do with dead birds? I wonder why, put them in the encyclopaedia, that you should suffer your rot. Absolute disgrace. Dead birds, why did they poison them?”  

Smith Flanagan who claimed he has been visiting the lake daily in the past one decade said seeing dead goose floating on the lake was every summer experience. 

According to him, each time the water becomes warm, the goose dies, and their carcasses would remain in the pond for a long time before they were evacuated.  

Visitors suspected several causes of the geese death. While some believed that the water was polluted, some suspected that those coming to feed the geese might have given them something harmful to eat and a few persons feared an outbreak of avian bird flu.  

An official of the Manchester City Council said they were aware of the dead geese and have contacted those that will evacuate the birds. He claimed the birds died of natural causes, hence, they could not contaminate the pond.  

Charlie Bolus, who brought his friend on a gaming expedition for the first time, said he enjoyed fishing. 

He said: “It’s a nice relaxing past-time. Especially when the sun shining. It is relaxing, it’s nice to be out with nature all day. Hopefully, we will catch a fish or two.” 

Charlie said the expedition so far was not good but hoped they would at least catch one fish before they left.  

There were different groups of fun seekers at the lake. Some elderly people sat in front of the pub to take some drinks and enjoy the tranquil environment, some people came for a walk, and others were there to catch a game. 

A few came to feed the birds despite a notice on the billboard at the entrance prohibiting feeding the birdlife to help the park to keep them wild.  

A billboard showing, ‘Who lives in Boggart Hole Clough Lake’ indicated that birds like heron, Canadian goose, mallard, moorhen, gooseander, coot, and kingfisher; fish like mirror carp, common carp, perch, crucian carp, gudgeon and tench. Other creatures like pondsnail, dragonfly larvae, daphnia, and water boatman were the stock of birdlife.